Always with love, never without, The Beginning
by SuspiriaMoon
Summary: Professors Dumbledore and Snape travel to a park in Godric's Hallow where the rescue a young girl who is close to death. Who is this child, but the unknown daughter of Lily Potter and Severus Snape. Vanessa brings out a new side in the potions master.
1. Chapter 1

_**Always with love, never without.**_

_**Book 1: The Beginning.**_

_**A Harry Potter fanfiction.**_

_**Written by: B. C. Perron.**_

_****Author's Note**_

_**Disclaimer**_

_I do not own any characters or trademark locations from the Harry Potter series._

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Vanessa's POV**_

___The snow blew wildly around me as I curled up on the park bench. This was the worst blizzard to come to Godric's Hallow in a long time, so I have heard._

_ My name is __Vanessa Arabella Potter. On October 31__st__, the day I turned four, my parents were murdered. I fled our house, leaving my baby brother in his crib, and my parents lying dead on the floor._

_ I was found and sent to an orphanage. I lived there from November 1__st__ to sometime in April. One day I decided I had enough of the constant abuse, and I ran from the orphanage. I have been living on the streets ever since._

_ It was now the middle of December. Foolishly, I had left the orphanage only wearing pajamas. I had a pair of blue pants, a white and green striped tank top and over that a blue house coat. I was also barefooted._

_ I sobbed as I struggled to pull the thin blanket that covered me over my frozen toes. I hadn't eaten for almost two weeks. The last thing I ate was two apples I stole from a stand. I sobbed again as I remembered food._

_ I pulled the hood of my house coat over my head. My stomach rumbled violently. I was extremely smart for a five year old, that's what a lady at the orphanage said while I was reading a novel meant for teenagers. I understood ever word of it, and she was amazed. The other kids weren't and they teased me._

_ Now, while lying on a park bench, under a thin blanket, in the worst storm imaginable, I knew I was going to die soon. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I would be with mum and dad soon._

_ "Hullo?"_

_ I froze on the bench. I didn't get up for where I was lying, I just stayed still._

_ "Hullo, young lady?" A kind voice called out._

_ Hesitantly, I propped myself up on my elbow, searching the park around me. I saw two figures standing near the gate quite a bit away from me._

_ "W-what do you want?" I called out, my voice weak. The taller of the two shifted. The other began towards me, with the taller one following slowly. The one man stopped a bit away from me. I could make out his features. He was old, with long white hair and a beard; it flowed along with the purple cloak he was wearing. He also had twinkling blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles. The other man was taller, with greasy, black hair that came down to his shoulders. He had a hooked nose and dark, black eyes. His cloak was pitch black, and billowed bat-like behind him as he walked._

_ "Are you Vanessa Potter?" The old man asked. The other man tensed with a look of surprise in his eyes as he looks over at the older man. When the older man didn't look at him, he turned to look at me, hatred visible in his glaring eyes._

_ "D-depends." I said weakly._

_ "On what, child?" The old man asked, his eyes twinkling madly._

_ "On who's asking." I replied coldly, looking from the older man to the scary man and back again._

_ "I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, and this is Professor Severus Snape." He told me._

_ The man called Severus turned to glare at Dumbledore and then back to glare at me._

_ "What do you want?" I asked timidly, sitting up and pulling the blanket around me._

_ "Why don't I explain it to you somewhere a little warmer. You must be freezing. Come with us child." Said Dumbledore kindly._

_ I stood up, tempted. Then I remembered what Mummy said. Never go anywhere with strange men, and Dumbledore and this Snape character qualified as strange._

_ "I-I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't know you." I said to the two men. Then I started running away from them. I heard the old man talk to the scary man._

_ "Severus, go catch her, she is very ill, possibly dying. Every second matters in getting her somewhere safe." Dumbledore told Snape._

_ I didn't hear anything else because I was already too far away. I knew the old man was right, I was dying. As I ran, my vision started to get foggy. I started to slow down, but then started going fast again, remembering that the scary man couldn't be far behind._

_ My fears were confirmed when I heard snow crunching behind me. I knew I had lost. I started slowing down, I couldn't help it. My legs gave out and I fell forward. Before I hit the ground, I was caught._

_ I knew the hands that caught me belonged to the Snape man, so I struggled weakly, trying to get him to let go. He ignored the weak punches and kicks I aimed at him and pulled me up into his strong arms._

_ "Stop struggling child. Save that strength for when you need it." He growled in my ear._

_ When I didn't stop fighting, he sighed._

_ "You're just making it harder girl. Let me help you." He said._

_ Tears started flowing and I kept struggling to get out of his grip._

_ "Please. Trust me." He whispered. I opened my eyes. My vision was terribly foggy, but I saw his face._

_ "Your eyes..." He murmured. Then he shook his head._

_ "Trust me." He repeated again. I looked into his black eyes. My eyes were foggy and full of tears, but I could tell that his eyes were black. I nodded._

_ "Alright." I whispered. I surrendered and stopped struggling. He lifted me up and pulled me against his chest. He wrapped his cloak around me. He started to walk back to the park. I started to tremble, not from the cold, but from fear. What was he going to do to me? I didn't really trust him, but I felt that I should. There was nothing I could do to get away from him, I was too weak._

_ We entered the park and the old man was still there. Snape carried me right up to Dumbledore. The old man smiled._

_ "That wasn't so hard now was it?" He asked._

_ I whimpered and more tears leaked down my cheeks. Snape spoke up._

_ "She was quite difficult, headmaster. She is becoming weaker as we speak. Perhaps, we should get her to Madam Pomfrey?" He suggested._

_ I lay my head against Snape's chest. He tensed and started to say something. I didn't heard what he said because at that moment I lost conscientiousness._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Severus's POV**_

_ "What-" I began to say when I felt the girl rest her head against my chest. I looked down._

_ "She's dying." I said. It was a fact. I looked up at the Headmaster._

_ He nodded solemnly._

_ "We have to get her to Madam Pomfrey. We can't just let her die!" I exclaimed. I looked down at her face. She had black hair, and pale skin. I saw her eyes when she looked into mine when she was fighting me and I almost lost it when she did. She had her mother's eyes. Lily's eyes._

_ She whimpered slightly and her face looked agonized. _

_ "We can't apparate when she isn't awake. We need another mode of transportation." Dumbledore said._

_ I scowled, thinking. I shifted the child's unconscious body into one arm, and with the other, pulled my wand from the pocket of my robes. I pointed it at the night sky._

_ I summoned a broomstick. After a moment one came shooting across the sky. I handed it to Dumbledore and summoned another one for myself._

_ The Headmaster mounted his broom and turned to me._

_ "Are you sure you can ride with her in your arm, Severus?" He asked as I awkwardly climbed onto my broom._

_ "I'll manage." I grumbled. I gripped the girl tightly with one hand and grabbed the handle of the broom with the other._

_ We took off soaring across the midnight sky towards Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Twice, I felt the girl slipping from my grasp. Fortunately, I managed not to drop her._

_ When we arrived, we walked swiftly towards the front gates. Dumbledore lifted the enchantments and the gates swung open. I looked towards the school to find the transfiguration teacher, Professor Minerva McGonagall running across the grounds to meet us._

_ "Albus..." She started, quite out of breath. McGonagall was an older, stern looking woman, with auburn, graying hair tied tightly into a bun on top of her head._

_ The Headmaster simply waved his hand and started to walk towards the castle. We followed as the gates swung shut behind us. I looked over at Minerva. She was staring at the girl in my arms. She looked up at me, confused, but didn't say anything._

_ We made our way to Dumbledore's office. The students were all asleep, so the corridors were empty. Soon, we stood in front of the Stone Gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office._

_ "Licorice Wands." Said Dumbledore. The Gargoyle nodded, excepting this password, and moved around. It revealed a spiral staircase made of stone. We all made our way up and through the oak doors to Dumbledore's office._

_ "Albus what is going on? Who is this girl?" Minerva asked, gesturing to the child whimpering in my arms. We all sat down, Dumbledore behind his desk, and Minerva and I in the chairs opposite. I kept the girl in my arms as I sat._

_ "This is Vanessa Potter." Dumbledore said, surveying the child in my arms._

_ "What? Did Lily and James have a daughter? Or is it it some other relation?" Minerva asked, also studying the girl._

_ "Yes. She is their daughter. She was merely four years old when her parents were killed, and she was old enough to understand." He replied._

_ Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet Phoenix, flew down from his perch to land on Dumbledore's shoulder. _

_ "Ah, Fawkes. Would you kindly fly down and awake Madam Pomfrey. Her services are needed as you can see. Take this letter telling her that we will be arriving down there in a few minutes, but that first we need to discuss a few important matters." Dumbledore said to the bird, handing him a parchment Dumbledore had just written upon. Fawkes nodded his majestic head in agreement and flew out through the door._

_ "But where has she been all this time?" Minerva asked._

_ "Why don't we ask her?" Dumbledore suggested. He looked at me._

_ "Severus, could you try and wake her?" He asked, his eyes sparkling._

_ I looked down. The girl was resting, but she was clearly in agony. _

_ "Wake up." I said to her. She didn't seem to acknowledge me._

_ "You will have to do better than that, Severus." Chuckled Dumbledore._

_ "Get up child." I said again, shaking her by the shoulders impatiently._

_ She stirred. _

_ Her eyes fluttered and opened. She looked up at me with her bright, confused, brilliant green eyes._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Vanessa's POV**_

_ I was woken by something shaking me. I opened my eyes, confused, to find myself still in the arms of Severus Snape._

_ I stared into his black eyes. Someone gasped and he averted his eyes to find the source. I looked too. I saw the old man, Dumbledore, and a new person. A stern looking woman, but with kind eyes. She was looking at me with what I thought to be adoration._

_ "She is lovely." The woman spoke. She stood up and moved towards Severus and I. _

_ She seemed harmless, but I didn't want to take my chances._

_ "No... don't. Let me down." I struggled. Snape moved and let me on the ground. I moved a few feet and fell to my knees._

_ "Oh." I whimpered. My vision was still foggy. The next thing I knew Snape had picked me up again. He sighed._

_ "You are in horrible condition child. We are going to take you to the hospital wing. You are very ill." _

_ I started to object._

_ "No. I don't-"_

_ "Silence." He commanded. I listened, not knowing what these people were going to do to me. Snape started walking. We left the office we were in and went down some stairs._

_ My vision just got more foggy and I became more drowsy. Then I started coughing. Snape stopped walking and so did the others. When I could finally stop, I felt worse then ever._

_ "Minerva. Do you have a tissue or something?" Snape asked._

_ The woman reached into the pocket of her emerald green robes and pulled out a pink handkerchief. She handed it it Snape who proceeded to wipe the corner of my mouth. When he moved it away I could see through my vision that it was stained with blood._

_ I whimpered. It was getting hard to breathe. I fell unconscious again. _


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

_**Severus's POV**_

_All three of us rushed to the Hospital Wing. Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and myself. I was carrying the small child in my arms. She was severely ill, and dangerously close to dying._

_ "Severus? Is she still breathing?" Asked Minerva McGonagall, running beside me._

_ I stopped for a moment. I placed my hand gently on her chest, searching for movement._

_ "Just barely. Her heartbeat is weak also." I confirmed. We continued to the Hospital Wing._

_ Albus Dumbledore pushed the doors to the Hospital Wing open and stepped inside. Minerva and myself followed him._

_ Madam Poppy Pomfrey was tending to some small boy in a bed near the back of the room. Fawkes, the phoenix, was sitting proudly on the back of Madam Pomfrey's chair, behind her desk. When Fawkes saw us all enter the room, he screeched and took flight. He flew across the room and landed gracefully on Dumbledore's shoulder._

_ Poppy looked up at us. She came over towards us and led me towards a spare bed, where I put the girl down._

_ "What has happened to this poor child?" Poppy asked._

_ "I believe she has Hypothermia. Or something similar." Answered Dumbledore._

_ "Hypothermia? What has she been doing?" Poppy wondered._

_ "She has been living on the streets for some time now, in a park in Godric's Hallow. Which now, I must say, is facing the worst blizzard imaginable. She has been living on a park bench wearing only what she is wearing now." Dumbledore explained._

_ Poppy ran quickly to her office and returned with a small crystal vile._

_ "Please wake her, I need her to drink this." Poppy told me._

_ I did as she asked, leaning over the small girl and shaking her awake once more._

_ "P-please sir. Let me die in peace." She whispered. I froze._

_ "Why do you want to die, child?" Asked Dumbledore from where he was standing._

_ "I want to be with my mummy and daddy. I am tired of being cold, lonely, and scared. I miss my mummy. I miss Daddy and Harry. Please, let me die." She cried._

_ She opened her emerald eyes to stare into my black ones. Her eyes were pleading._

_ "You are not dieing. You will stay alive, understood?" I told her, in my usual unemotional tone. I stared into her eyes._

_ "W-why? Why c-can't I d-die?" She asked timidly. I didn't answer._

_ "You have to drink this." I told her, showing the little crystal vile in my palm._

_ She stared at it suspiciously._

_ "What is it? Why do I have t-to drink it?" She asked weakly. I didn't say anything, but she proceeded in attempting to sit up._

_ She yelped in pain and quickly lay back onto the bed. I placed my hand on her back and helped her sit up. She tensed at my touch, and winced in pain at the movement._

_ I pulled the stopper out with my teeth and then brought the vile to the girl's lips._

_ She looked like she was going to put up a fight, but then her eyes seemed to loose a little of the light in them. She surrendered. I pressed the crystal vile to her lips and she drank._

_ When she had drank it all she gagged. I helped her lay back onto the bed. Almost immediately the color returned to her face and the light to her eyes. Her lips became more red and even her hair seemed to become more vibrant._

_ "Perfect!" Said Madam Pomfrey. She then pulled the blue house coat off. Both her and I gasped as we saw what was underneath._

_ Scars. Gashes. Bruises all over her arms and up her neck. Some looked many months old, others looked fairly new. Abuse. _


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Vanessa's POV**_

_ I awoke feeling quite better. I was lying in a bright room. I sat up, frowning as I tried to remember why I was here._

_ As the memories flooded back to me, I felt my face go pale. I started shivering and looked around again. I didn't see anyone._

_ I turned my head to the right. As I did this, I found myself inches away from Professor Dumbledore. I screamed and backed away from him, and forgot I was on a bed._

_ I fell backwards and onto the floor. Before I hit the floor, I was caught. I opened my eyes to find myself now inches away from the face of Severus Snape, who had caught me._

_ "You are quite the klutz, child." He sighed, lifting me back onto the bed effortlessly._

_ "S-sorry sir." I stuttered. Dumbledore chuckled as he looked down at me, his blue eyes twinkling._

_ "I notice you seem to be almost at ease with Severus. I wonder, why is that?" He asked, his eyes alive with curiosity._

_ I felt myself blush and Severus tensed beside my bed. He had seated himself in the chair on the left of my bedside, Dumbledore seated on my right. I smiled a little._

_ "I d-don't know s-sir." I answered. He looked me over intently._

_ "No, you do know. Why do you not shy away from him as most people do? You can answer child, no one is going to judge you." He pressed on. I shivered._

_ "I-I'm sorry. It's just that... that Professor Severus seems familiar to me. I don't know why. I j-just feel I know him from somewhere. I'm sorry." I looked down at my hands now as if hey were the most interesting things in the world._

_ "Interesting." Dumbledore muttered._

_ I looked up at Snape. He was glaring at me with what seemed to be pure hatred. I quickly returned to studying my hands._


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

_**Severus's POV**_

_ I stared at the girl, and she looked up at me. I stared into her eyes. She had said that I seemed familiar to her. Strangely, she seemed familiar to me also._

_ I thought hard, it must has looked like I was glaring at her menacingly, because she quickly looked away, looking absolutely terrified._

_ Then I remembered that day in Diagon Alley, and I remembered where I had seen this girl._

_ It was about four months before Lily's death. I was in Knockturn Alley, in Borgin and Burkes. I was browsing, looking at strange magical nick-knacks and such. I left the shop and proceeded up the alley to where it exited into Diagon Alley._

_ I almost exited when I saw a group of people just outside the exit. I leaned up against the wall and watched the group. There was a man, a woman, a little baby boy, and a small girl._

_ I knew who the woman was even though I couldn't see her face. Lily Potter, formally known as Lily Evans, was standing near her husband, James Potter. She was talking to him, laughing. The small boy in James' arms was squirming and laughing, trying to escape his grip. Lily was smiling and lecturing James on the proper way to hold a child. I almost smiled._

_ James Potter, was a despicable person. I didn't think there was anyone in the whole world I could dislike more than him, well, maybe Sirius Black. The look on his face was actually quite amusing as he tried to keep the boy, Harry in his grip._

_ I looked down at the other child. She had a handful of her mothers skirt in her tiny fist. She had black hair that went down to her shoulders. _

_ Just then, the little girl turned her head. She looked straight at me. Her brilliant green eyes met my cold black ones. I expected the child to be scared, so it surprised me when she smiled. Her smile was breathtaking. It was Lily's smile the little girl had inherited, not her father's amused sneer._

_ I returned to reality and looked down at the same girl on the hospital bed. She seemed, at that moment, also to remember where she had seen me from._

_ "I remember where I have seen you! You were in Diagon Alley when me and..." She shook her head. I thought she was going to start crying, so again she surprised me when she looked up and smiled._

_ "You remember me?" I asked, quite shocked. He smile widened._

_ "Of course I remember you!" She smiled. Her smile disappeared._

_ "S-sir, could I ask you something?" She stuttered. I nodded._

_ "Yes you may." I said slowly._

_ "That day in Diagon Alley, how come y-you looked so upset?" She asked quietly._

_ I froze. This conversation has gone seemed too personal for me. I felt myself blush as I stood up and headed towards the door._

_ "N-no, please! I-I'm sorry. You don't have to answer, and you don't have to leave! Please?" She begged. I stopped mid-stride, and turned. I looked at the child. Why was she begging for me to stay? _

_ Hesitantly, I made my way back to the chair by the girl's bedside._

_ "Severus, your blushing." Minerva spoke. I hadn't even realized she had joined us in the room. She probably slunk in here as a cat._

_ I bent my head down, letting my hair fall to cover my face, which I could feel getting warmer. Poppy giggled and I looked up. She was smiling as she gently probed the cuts on the girl's neck._

_ "You seem to be healing nicely child. Is there anything you would like?" She asked._

_ "Y-yes. I like to read..." She muttered. Poppy looked confused._

_ "But you're barely over five, you can't possibly read yet, can you?" Poppy asked._

_ "Y-yes I can." The girl replied, looking determined._

_ Poppy summoned a copy of The Tales of Beetle the Bard. She handed it to the girl with a slightly amused expression on her face. _


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Vanessa's POV**_

_I took the book gingerly from Madam Pomfrey's hands. I liked this woman a bit, but now she seemed to be undermining my abilities. I looked over the book._

_ "The Tales of Beetle the Bard? Whats that?" I asked._

_ The adults looked at me like I was crazy. Professor Dumbledore was smiling, but with a mocking twinkle in his eyes. Professor Severus, on the other hand, betrayed no emotions at all, and I got the idea he was usually like this._

_ "You've never heard of Beetle the Bard?" Asked Professor McGonagall._

_ I thought hard._

_ 'However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water.' I smiled as I remembered those words. They were being told in the voice of my mother, reading to me and Harry before bedtime._

_ "I do remember." I gasped, flipping open the book. I flipped through the pages, searching for that one story in particular. At last I found it. The Three Brothers._

_ I stared at the page and then looked up into the twinkling eyes of Dumbledore. He nodded encouragingly._

_ "There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, the brothers reached a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across." I began, my voice strong._

_ "However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it when they found their path blocked by a hooded figure." I started getting a little frightened, and started remembering the memories I had tried so hard to repress._

_ "And Death spoke to them. He was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travelers usually d-drowned in the river. But D-Death was cunning. H-he pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their m-magic, and said that each had earned a prize for having been c-clever enough to evade him." My voice started wavering._

_ "So the oldest brother, who was a c-combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in e-existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered D-Death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and g-gave it to the oldest brother." I felt a few tears trickle down my cheeks._

_ I continued reading however, and soon came to the end._

_ "But though D-Death searched for the third brother for many years, he was n-never able to find h-him. It was only w-when he had a-attained a great age t-that the youngest b-brother finally took off t-the Cloak of I-Invisibility and gave it to his s-son. And t-then he g-greeted D-Death as an old f-friend, and went with h-him gladly, and, equals, t-they departed t-this life." Tears had started flowing a few paragraphs ago, but I had continued reading, fighting off the urge to scream and cry in mourning for my lost family._


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

_**Severus's POV**_

_ I watched as the girl carefully closed the book. Her brilliant green eyes were full of tears, which were flowing steadily down her pale cheeks. For some strange reason, I felt the need to comfort the child. But, I didn't know how to comfort anything, much less a child._

_ The girl was shaking. Her eyes were now staring off into space. I wondered if I should possibly perform Legitimency to see what was troubling her._

_ I looked up at the Headmaster, and he seemed to read my thoughts. He nodded._

_ I pulled my wand out of the pocket of my robes and pointed it at the girl. It seemed to pull her out of her trance, and she looked at me with pure fear in her eyes._

_ "Legitimens." I muttered. I was pulled instantly into her memories._

_ The first memory was seemingly happy. Lily was sitting on a chair with Vanessa on her lap and Harry in his crib. She was reading the Tale of the Three Brothers. I thought it was a happy memory until a shout came from somewhere downstairs._

_ "Lily! Hide! He is here, hide!" Came James Potter's voice from downstairs. _

_ "AVADA KEDAVRA!" Came a shout from downstairs._

_ "No! James!" Cried Lily. She stood up, clutching Vanessa to her, the book falling to the floor. Lily moved and placed Vanessa in Harry's crib._

_ "Harry, Vanessa, mummy loves you. Daddy loves you. Never forget that. I love you, I will always love you." Lily cried, kneeling down to face her children._

_ Vanessa looked confused._

_ "Where are you going mummy?" She asked, but then her face became scared. She looked past her mother, towards the door._

_ Lily spun around. Her eyes were pleading._

_ "No, please. Don't kill them. Take me instead. Please, I beg you!" She cried, pleading to the dark lord._

_ "Out of my way, foolish girl." He growled._

_ "No please!" Lily yelled._

_ "AVADA KEDAVRA!" The Dark Lord screamed, wand pointed to Lily._

_ Lily Potter crumpled to the floor, and moved no more. I felt sick watching this, but knew I had to continue._

_ I watched as The Dark Lord advanced upon the two small children cowering in the crib._

_ There was a smile etched upon the Dark Lord's face. He aimed his wand at the small boy._

_ "No, please. Don't hurt Harry!" Cried Vanessa, wrapping her arms around Harry's small form. The Dark Lord sneered at her, but kept his aim on Harry._

_ "AVADA KEDAVRA!" He shouted. Then the curse rebounded, leaving the Dark Lord defeated instead of Harry. Vanessa still had her arms wrapped around Harry, but her eyes were wide with fear. _

_ She looked at Harry and saw the lightning bolt scar that was etched upon his forehead._

_ Vanessa started trembling as she turned to look at her mother lying on the floor. She turned and kissed Harry on his cheek, then climbed out of the crib._

_ She kissed her mother, and ran from the house, only stopping once to give the dead James a kiss on his forehead also._

_ The next vision was of Vanessa sitting in a crowded room. She was deeply into a book. She didn't notice the other girls sneaking up on her. They tore the book from Vanessa's hands._

_ She looked up in fear and surprise. One brown haired girl tackled her. Vanessa squirmed under the girl, but couldn't escape. She was unusually small for her age. She has a bit bigger than Harry, and he was three years younger than her._

_ The brown haired girl jumped back. She hollered in fake pain._

_ "Owwwwww! Marcus, Vanessa hit me!" She cried. She gave Vanessa a evil smirk as a huge man entered the room. In his hand he held a belt. Vanessa cowered in fear._

_ "Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this." _

_ The next memory was even more horrible. Vanessa lay on the floor, curled into a ball. She was moaning in pain. The floor around her was covered in blood, it was leaking from Vanessa as she lay on the floor._

_ A door on the side wall swung open. A tall, ugly woman, entered the room. She stomped over to Vanessa and reached down. She yanked Vanessa roughly to her feet by her collar. Vanessa moaned in pain._

_ "Its your fault, you got what you deserved. Whats broken?" The woman asked, no concern in her voice. Vanessa whimpered._

_ "R-Ribs, mam, and I think my skull is-is... its c-cracked." She whispered. Most of the bleeding was coming from the huge gash on her head._

_ The woman kicked her._

_ "Speak up, insolent child, and no whimpering, it shows weakness." The woman growled. Vanessa nodded, tears sparkling in her eyes. The woman hit her again._

_ "No crying!" She barked._

_ It switched to another memory. I was feeling more and more disgusted. This memory was of her packing her stuff and running from the orphanage. It was very brief and changed to another memory quickly._

_ It was the night Albus and I had gone to find her. I watched as she ran from me. I heard her thoughts. I heard how her mother had told her never to go anywhere with strangers. I heard the fear as she ran from me._

_ 'He is going to hit me, he is going to beat me. I'm going to die, those men are going to kill me. Can't run anymore. Can't fight. Let me go. Let me go!' He thoughts rang in my ears._

_ Finally I pulled out of her memories. I watched as the child before me burst into tears, she pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. She pressed her face into her knees and sobbed._

_ "I-I'm sorry." I stuttered quietly. I reached out to touch her._


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

_**Vanessa's POV**_

_ I curled up, sobbing. I had just seen all of my worst memories replayed before my eyes. My parent's death, being framed, my worst beating, running away, and encountering the strange men. All I wanted now was for someone to comfort me, to help fight away the fear._

_ "I-I'm sorry." A voice said quietly from beside me. It was Severus._

_ The next thing I knew something touched me on the back. I tensed, waiting for a beating. Then I realized it was Severus, rubbing my back. He was trying to comfort me._

_ I looked up at him, he betrayed no emotion on his face, but I could see pain in his eyes. He was patting my back gingerly, looking extremely awkward. _

_ I couldn't stop myself, I needed comfort. One minute I was curled up on the bed, the next I had my arms wrapped around the neck of Severus Snape, crying into his shoulder. He was frozen, and I knew I should back away, I knew that he was going to beat me. But I couldn't, I just sat there on his lap, crying into his shoulder._

_ Then something unexpected happened. I felt Severus move again. Slowly, very cautiously, he wrapped his arms around me. _

_ All was silent, I turned my head and spoke._

_ "I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry. I d-deserve to b-be beaten, I w-wont s-scream, I d-deserve it." I cried quietly. He tensed, and I wished I hadn't spoken. I tried to move out of his arms, but when I tried, his grip only got tighter._


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

_**Severus's POV**_

_ The child had moved. She was now in my lap, her arms around my neck. She was crying her heart out into my shoulder._

_ I sat there, frozen. She shook violently. I moved my arms very slowly, afraid that any sudden movement would scare her to death. I wrapped my arms around her tiny body._

_ I looked up to Dumbledore. His eyes were sparkling, a crooked smile set upon his lips. Minerva was utterly shocked. I guessed she couldn't believe that the horrible Potions Master would by any means attempt to comfort a child, much less hug one._

_ Madam Pomfrey had fallen into a chair and was looking at me sternly. I could tell she blamed me for the child's breakdown._

_ The whimpering of the girl in my arms snapped me out of my train of thought._

_ "I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry. I d-deserve to b-be beaten, I w-wont s-scream, I d-deserve it." She cried out. I immediately froze, shocked by her words. I felt angry. Not at her, at her memories, at those muggles she was forced to stay with, the ones that beat her. Felt angry that she had been forced to live on the streets._

_ I felt her squirm in my arms, she obviously sensed my anger, but I only tightened my grip on her. I could not let this child be hurt any longer, even is she was James Potter's child._

_ Anger boiled inside of me. The child squirmed. I tightened my arms. I heard her whimpering. Hugging her more tightly, I thought she was whimpering from fear, only to find out I was wrong when she yelped in pain as my arms tightened again. The Headmaster spoke._

_ "Severus, release your grip. Your hurting her." I immediately released my grip, expecting the girl to cower and run away._

_ She didn't, and again this girl surprised me. When I released her, she took a deep breath, but remained on my lap. She looked slightly surprised. She no longer had her arms around my neck, but the was clinging to the front of my robes as if her life depended on it._

_ "She still sits with you? You just almost crushed her and she still sits with you?" Cried Poppy, obviously outraged. She walked around the bed to stand in front of me._

_ "Give her to me." Poppy commanded, her arms outstretched._

_ I tried to pry her fingers off my robes carefully, trying not to hurt her again. But she wouldn't let go._

_ "I won't hurt you. Just let Madam Pomfrey take you." I whispered. I knew I had already hurt her, but she seemed to be ignoring that. Her grip tightened on my robes, her knuckles going white._

_ "No! Please, don't make me leave! Don't leave me!" She cried, burring her face in my chest, shaking with fear. Poppy's eyes widened and she retreated backwards. She glared at me before returning to her chair._

_ The girl sighed and she still shook slightly. _

_ "What did you see Severus?" Dumbledore asked. I began to explain, telling him in great detail every memory I witnessed._

_ Minerva burst into tears during the first memory. I myself was shaking, trying to control my anger, seeing as how I had my arms around the girl again._

_ When I finished, Dumbledore seemed lost in thought. He finally spoke after what seemed like a number of ages._

_ "The girl is of magic blood, obviously. So she will be attending Hogwarts when she comes of age. When she starts school in six years she will then stay in her house dorm. But for now, she is in need of a home." Dumbledore looked up at me, with that twinkle in his eye._

_ "Headmaster-" I began but was cut off._

_ "She seems to have taken a liking to you. You are basically the only one she will let touch her, besides Poppy tending to her injuries. See, she has fallen into a slumber in your arms." He said, gesturing to the girl with his hand._

_ I looked down. The girl, Vanessa, was asleep, her face finally peaceful. I almost broke down. She was almost an exact replica of Lily. Only with black hair and paler skin. He breathing was now even, but was broken by a heavy, dreaming sob._

_ "Well?" Asked Albus._

_ "I-um-I-" I seemed at a lose for words. It was only when the child stirred and showed me her beautiful green eyes, that I answered._

_ "Alright, Headmaster." I agreed. He smiled cheerfully._

_ I looked down at her. She was eying me suspiciously, and it was cute. Wait, what? No, I will not go soft. _

_ I sighed. I looked into those eyes and sighed again. Unexpectedly, I felt my mouth turn up into a small, crooked smile. I suppose it looked rather strange on my face because she laughed._

_ The beautiful laughter ran through the room. It sounded like music. As I heard it, my face turned into a full out smile. She looked up at me. _

_ I saw my reflection in her eyes. I stared. I looked... happy._


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

_**Vanessa's POV**_

_ I looked up into Severus's dark eyes. His mouth turned up into a crooked smile. It looked very funny on his otherwise serious face._

_ I laughed. I actually laughed. I hadn't laughed in so long. I looked up at Severus and saw that he was wearing a true smile. He looked down at me and stared into my eyes._

_ I stared into his dark eyes. They were black and they gleamed like onyxes. We were interrupted by a stern voice._

_ "Headmaster, Severus Snape cannot take care of a child. Have you seen how he acts around the students, and they are mature! Who knows what will happen to her, this little girl!"_

_ I turned to find that it was Madam Pomfrey who had spoken. I felt upset, Severus seemed like a good person to me. I knew Severus was upset also, because his grip on me got tighter. It wasn't painful, more like comforting._

_ I looked up at Severus. His face betrayed no emotion, but his eyes were angry. His eyes scared me, but at the same time comforted me._

_ I turned back to Madam Pomfrey to voice my opinion._

_ "From what I see, Severus is a good person. So don't be mean. If you don't like him, you should just keep your opinions to yourself." I scolded her._

_ Madam Pomfrey looked at me, shocked. Professor Dumbledore sat, chuckling in his chair and Professor McGonagall just looked at me curiously. I looked up at Severus._

_ He was looking down at me, and smiling. I smiled back at him. Severus had one of those rare smiles, so when you saw it, you couldn't help smile too._


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

_**Severus's POV**_

_ "Well that settles it." Said Dumbledore cheerfully, clapping his hands together._

_ "Settles what?" I asked absentmindedly. I was still staring into the small girl's green eyes._

_ "Vanessa is going to live with you, of course. Severus, you seem to have your head in the clouds." He stated._

_ I looked up at him to find him smiling warmly at me._

_ "My apologies, Headmaster. It has, after all, been a long night." I said coolly. My attention returned to the girl in my lap, but hers was elsewhere. She was staring at Minerva with a confused expression._

_ "I didn't see you come in. Did you use magic?" Vanessa asked, her expression turning excited as she spoke about magic. Minerva smiled at her._

_ "I came in here as a cat, dear." She said this as if it was the most common thing in the world._

_ Vanessa's eyes widened,_

_ "A cat?" She repeated, looking fascinated. Minerva smiled again._

_ "Yes, a cat. I am an Anamagus. I can turn into a cat at will." Minerva seemed happy that she had the lovely little girl's attention._

_ "Thats amazing." Breathed Vanessa, deeply interested. Then, Vanessa muttered something, and she blushed and bent her head, letting her hair curtain her face._

_ "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that, my dear." Said Minerva. Vanessa raised her head._

_ "I-I was wondering if-if you could s-show me. Like... turn into a cat?" She asked shyly._

_ Minerva smiled kindly and then began to transform. She shrunk until you couldn't see her anymore from where she was a moment ago, at the edge of the bed._

_ Vanessa looked up at me and then back to where Minerva was recently standing._

_ Then, a silver and black tabby cat jumped up onto the bed and greeted us with a happy meow._

_ Vanessa gasped and tried to climb out of my lap. I dropped my arms and she scrambled onto the bed._

_ Vanessa looked excited, but also nervous. She sat still and reached out with her hand, gesturing to Minerva that she wanted to pet her._

_ Minerva looked confused for a moment but then seemed to understand. She took a step forwards and nudged her head onto the girl's outstretched hand. Minerva was purring as Vanessa patted her._

_ "Kitty." Sighed Vanessa, dreamily._

_ Minerva let out a sound like a laugh, if cats can laugh at all. _


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13**_

_**Vanessa's POV**_

_ Professor McGonagall turned into a cat! She purred and meowed as I patted her head._

_ I called her Kitty, and she seemed to laugh. Well, it was more of a strange chuckling sound. Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat._

_ "Poppy, when will Vanessa be able to leave the Hospital Wing?" He asked._

_ Poppy frowned before answering._

_ "She should stay for the night, just to be sure that she is ok." She answered._

_ "Alright, we shall take this time to prepare Vanessa's room. Let's see... Vanessa, what would you like to do with your room?" Dumbledore asked. I looked at him._

_ "I get my own room?" I asked hopefully. Dumbledore nodded in agreement._

_ "Wow, my own room. Um... could I draw on the walls? I mean, could you make them white, so I could paint them myself?" I asked._

_ "Well, Severus, it's up to you. Can Vanessa draw on the walls? The room, after all, is in your chambers." Dumbledore asked Severus._

_ "She will be in the guest room, correct?" Severus asked. Dumbledore nodded in agreement._

_ "That's fine then. Anything else? Do you want a carpet? What about blankets?" He asked me, looking down._

_ "A black carpet please. Black blankets too please, everything black, please." I said._

_ "Is that your favorite color?" Asked Dumbledore._

_ "Yes, black and neon green, they work perfectly together." I replied._

_ "Alright then. You two go work on Vanessa's color scheme, while Vanessa stays here and sleeps." Madam Pomfrey said, ushering them out of the hospital wing. I waved good-bye to Severus and Dumbledore before laying back onto my pillows._


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14**_

_**Severus's POV**_

_ After we fixed up Vanessa's new room, we visited with her a little more and then I retreated to my chambers to sleep. The next morning I awoke and dressed in my normal black robes, and set off towards the hospital wing._

_ I entered the hospital wing to find Vanessa sitting upright on her bed. She was sitting in bed with her eyes closed, humming a song._

_ "She likes music." Poppy explained._

_ Vanessa was humming and smiling._

_ She sang some of the song out-loud._

_ "She can sing beautifully, don't you think?" Poppy asked me._

_ "Yes. Just like her mother." It was true, Lily had a beautiful singing voice._

_ I reached over and nudged Vanessa's shoulder. She opened her eyes and smiled at me._

_ "Almost time to go?" She asked, excitedly._

_ "Yes." I answered._

_ "But first I am going to help you get clean, look at you, your covered in filth! I'll bet you have very nice hair if it wasn't full of dirt." Poppy cried._

_ Vanessa blushed. Before murmuring an okay. Poppy helped her out of her bed and into her office. Vanessa looked back at me with what I guessed was a look of: Please help me. I grinned at her encouragingly._


	15. Chapter 15

_**Chapter 15**_

_**Vanessa's POV**_

_ Madam Pomfrey led me into her office, then through another door that led to a nice little bathroom. She turned on the bathtub and many different colors of water came out different taps and into the tub._

_ I gasped and she smiled at me. The water was soon covered in a layer of rainbow colored bubbles._

_ "I will give you some privacy to get undressed." Madam Pomfrey said, turning around. I started to pull off my shirt but cried out in pain, as I was still quite sore._

_ "Whats wrong child?" Madam Pomfrey asked, turning around again to face me._

_ "I can't- It's still sore." I told her. She smiled and came over to me, where she helped me pull off my shirt._

_ "You can do the rest, right?" She asked. I blushed and nodded, I was very self-conscience._

_ I struggled a bit with my pants but I managed to get them off along with my undies. I climbed into the tub and Madam Pomfrey turned around and scooped up my clothes._

_ "You don't want to keep any of these clothes do you?" She asked._

_ "No, I only want to keep my house-coat. It was my mother's." I told her. She nodded before bustling out of the room with my clothes in her arms. She returned carrying a bar of soap, two towels, a hairbrush, and a set of clean clothes._

_ She helped me wash up, cleaning the scars on my back gently with the soap. I had fun with the bubbles, while she was washing my hair, I was blowing the bubbles around and popping them. I was giggling the whole time._

_ When we were done, she turned away again as I climbed out of the tub and wrapped one of the towels around me. With the other she dried my hair gently._

_ She turned around again as I dressed myself in the clean clothes. There was a black blouse and a black short skirt. There were white stockings and black slip on shoes._

_ Madam Pomfrey turned around._

_ "Almost perfect." She said._

_ "Almost?" I asked._

_ She walked over to me and blushed my hair, it hurt a lot with the tangles, but she managed to get them out. Then she pulled a red ribbon out of her pocket and tied it in my hair._

_ "Now its perfect." She said. She waved her wand and a mirror appeared in front of me. I looked at my reflection and tears leaked down my cheeks._

_ "Whats wrong?" Asked Madam Pomfrey._

_ "I l-look pretty! I h-have never l-looked so-so p-pretty!" I cried._

_ She laughed and took the towel to dry my tears. _

_ "Come on, you want to go see your new room?" She asked kindly. I nodded in agreement and we walked out of her office._


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16**_

_**Severus's POV**_

___Vanessa returned, following behind Poppy. I gasped when I saw her, she looked exactly like her mother, she got nothing from James Potter except his black hair._

_ When I gasped, she blushed and smiled. I quickly recomposed my face._

_ "Doesn't she look stunning?" Poppy asked, smiling brightly. _

_ I nodded in agreement, still looking at the small child that reminded me so much of Lily. Her hair was the same type, it was straight for a bit and then it became wavy, and it fell past her shoulders and down her back, now it was tied back, and flowing down past her waist._

_ Her eyes stood out against her jet black hair and pale skin._

_ I stood up and walked over to Poppy and Vanessa._

_ "Ready to go?" I asked. She nodded. Poppy pulled me away from her and started talking._

_ "Severus, Vanessa has, sort of, a physical weakness. She wont be able to walk fast, so don't get impatient." She said._

_ "Physical weakness?" I repeated, raising my eyebrows sceptically._

_ "Yes, if to much strain is put on her body at any point, she could become very sick, or she could even die. So you must be careful. She will also catch sicknesses easily, so try to keep he away from germs." She warned._

_ "Oh. Alright, I'll be careful with her." I promised._

_ I turned away from her and began to walk towards the door out of the hospital wing. I stopped so Vanessa could catch up to me and then continued._

_ I only realized I was walking fast when halfway down the corridor outside the door, Vanessa's breath was already staggered._

_ I slapped myself mentally for already forgetting what Poppy had just told me only moments ago. I stopped and waited for her to catch up. _

_ When she reached me she quickly reached up and grabbed hold of my hand with both her small ones. We stood there for a moment, Vanessa trying desperately to catch her breath._

_ "I'm sorry." I apologized quietly._

_ She looked up at me and smiled. She took a deep, ragged breath and started walking again. She was still holding my hand as we made our way down the hall._


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter 17**_

_**Vanessa's POV**_

___Soon after we left the hospital wing, I became out of breath while trying to keep up with Severus. I was trying not to complain, because he was swooping down the hall like a great big bat, and it was quite scary._

_ I gasped, trying to keep breathing. Severus heard me and swung around. He stopped walking and I rushed over to him. I grabbed his hand in both of mine and swayed on the spot._

_ I was having trouble breathing, but I didn't want to say anything, in case he became upset with me. So I just stood there, trying to regain my breath._

_ "I'm sorry." Severus whispered. I looked up at him and smiled. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were pained._

_ I started walking again, pulling him by his hand. I staggered a bit, but kept walking. I stumbled and he caught me, standing me upright again. I gasped again, but kept walking._

_ I started humming the song I was listening to when Severus had walked in this morning._

_ "What song are you humming?" Severus asked, I could hear worry in his voice._

_ "Oh, I don't know what it's called, mummy used to hum it to me all the time..." I stopped short. Two people were walking towards us._


	18. Chapter 18

_**Chapter 18**_

_**Severus's POV**_

_ Great, I had made her even more weak than she already was. We continued walking down the hall. A couple times she had stumbled, but I kept her upright._

_ Then, her legs gave out, but before she could fall, I caught her, guilt washing over me. I pulled her back up. We stood there for another moment before she started walking again._

_ She started humming that song she had been humming earlier._

_ "What song are you humming?" I asked her, worry obvious in my otherwise cold voice._

_ She answered me by saying she didn't know what it was called._

_ I stopped when I saw the two children approaching us. I moved so I was in front of Vanessa, but the two children stopped in front of me. Damian and Desdemona Elyon._

_ They were twins, raised in a muggle orphanage, they were abandoned at birth, because of the fact that they were strange._

_ They both had silver iris and golden pupils. The girl, Desdemona, had purple hair, and the boy, Damian, had a dark green. Both were their natural hair colors. Their skin was a deathly pale, and their lips were naturally colored black, like the night sky. They both always wore Gothic clothes, not even bothering to wear their Hogwarts robes, and they were always together._

_ They were said to be descendants of Salazar Slytherin himself._

_ They were both in Slytherin, but I hated them anyways. It wasn't only me, none of the teachers trusted them, and all of the students avoided them._

_ "Hello Professor Snape." They both chimed together. I found their unison creepy, but Vanessa did not. She laughed._

_ "Who may this be?" They asked together again, as they usually talked together, they only talked separately when they wanted to. They had a telepathic connection with each other._

_ "I'm Vanessa!" Vanessa laughed, taking a step around me._

_ Desdemona smiled, but her brother did not._

_ "I'm Desdemona. But you may call me Mona." She said holding out her hand. Vanessa reached up and took it, shaking her hand._

_ "What does your name mean?" Vanessa asked thoughtfully._

_ "Oh, apparently, my name means 'Of the Devil'. I don't know why. My brother's is worse, his name is Damian, and that actually means 'the Devil'." She told her, gesturing to her brother._

_ At the mention of his name, Damian scowled at his sister, then smiled slightly at Vanessa, his Silver and Gold eyes glittering._

_ "Wow." Vanessa seemed fascinated._

_ "What does your name mean child?" Asked Mona kindly._

_ "Mummy says my name means 'Butterfly.' Mummy says I'm beautiful like a butterfly." She told Mona._

_ "Where is your mummy? I'm sure the Professor here isn't your mummy." Mona said, smiling. She looked up at me and smirked, she didn't like me very much._

_ Vanessa's face fell. Mona noticed and bent down so her metallic eyes were even with Vanessa's brilliant green ones._

_ "Where is you mummy, sweetheart?" She asked quietly._

_ "Thats enough!" I growled. Mona looked up at me as I bent down a scooped Vanessa into my arms. She started to sob into my shoulder._

_ "Did we do something?" The twins chimed together._

_ "Obviously." I growled again. I moved to walk around them but they wouldn't let me._

_ "Where is her mother? Did you kill her?" Desdemona asked, her eyes alight with malice._

_ Anger boiled inside me._

_ "How dare you! I would have never lay a finger on Lily, never!" I barked at the twins. I ran around them and headed for my chambers, carrying Vanessa with me. _


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19**_

_**Vanessa's POV**_

_ We were continuing down the hall. I liked that girl Mona, but she had made me sad. She had asked me about my mummy, and that made me upset._

_ Severus had picked me up. I pressed my face against his shoulder and started to sob._

_ "Did we do something?" I heard the two ask together._

_ "Obviously." I heard Severus growl, with anger in his voice that I hadn't heard before._

_ Severus started to move but then stopped short._

_ "Where is her mother? Did you kill her?" Mona asked. I felt Severus start to tremble with anger._

_ "How dare you! I would have never lay a finger on Lily, never!" He shouted at them. Then we took off down the hall again._

_ Then I realized what he had said._

_ "Y-you knew m-my m-mummy?" I asked him through sobs. He stopped in the hall._

_ "What?" He hissed._

_ I started shaking in his arms. He was going to hit me now, I just knew it. I had made him angry and now he was going to beat me for it._

_ "I-I'm so s-sorry. P-please, I d-didn't mean... p-please don't h-hit m-me." I stuttered uncontrollably._

_ "No, it's alright. Yes, I knew your m-mummy, and I wont hit you." He said._

_ I was relieved that he wasn't going to hit me. I wrapped my arms around his neck._

_ "Thank you." I whispered in his ear._


	20. Chapter 20

_**Chapter 20**_

_**Severus's POV**_

___"Thank you." She whispered in my ear, her arms wrapped around my neck._

_ I turned to look at her. She was smiling, and I couldn't help but smile too. She unwrapped her small arms from around my neck and squirmed in my grasp._

_ "You can put me down now. I can walk." She said, continuing to try and escape my grip._

_ I put her down on the ground. She reached up and took my hand and began pulling me forwards once more._

_ We were almost to the stairs leading down to the dungeons and to my quarters. I swung around, because I heard footsteps behind me._

_ Sure enough, there, behind me were the twins. They were staring intently at me. They both tilted there heads at me in a questioning fashion._

_ "Hello M-Mona, Hello Damian." Vanessa greeted them timidly, while at the same time stepping slightly behind my legs._

_ Mona left her brother's side for the first time I had ever seen her do so. She walked straight over to Vanessa, despite the fact she saw me glaring at her._

_ "Whats wrong babe?" She asked Vanessa. Vanessa didn't say anything, she just shook her head. Desdemona turned to look up at me._

_ "Did you kill her mother?" She asked again._

_ I started to get angry again, but before I could answer, Vanessa did for me._

_ "Severus didn't kill my mummy! Severus would never kill anyone, he is too nice to kill anyone!" She cried. _

_ I froze, I had killed people before, I had tortured people. I couldn't tell Vanessa that though. I saw Damian smile evilly up at me._

_ "Your wrong Vanessa." He told her. I tensed, watching the boy._

_ "How would you know?" I sneered at him._

_ "Along with our many other obvious talents, we can also read minds." He said, knocking on his head with his fist._

_ "But I-" I started._

_ "We know that you are highly skilled in Legitimency and Occlumency, but that wont help you against our form of mind reading." He said, smiling wickedly. I glared at him._

_ "Leave now, insolent children." I growled at them. Vanessa looked up at me._

_ "Are you lying Severus?" She asked, fear in her voice._

_ Before I could answer, Mona did for me._

_ "Honey, you are too young to know some things. Some things you cannot understand. But I tell you this, under his mean stature, Severus is really a nice person. I doubt he would ever hurt you." She said. I looked down at her in shock. Was she sticking up for me?_

_ She answered the question that I had asked in my head, as though I had said it out loud._

_ "Yes I am, and I would like you to remember that the next time you give us detention for no particular reason. Thank you and good night professor." With that, she turned and retreated, her brother scowling at me before following._


End file.
